Will We Keep Anything From Hoke Era? Legacy Jerseys? Calling Them "Ohio"?
In addition to the flat-out stupid stuff - not wearing a headset, clapping like a seal, losing to every team as soon as they join the B1G - the Brady Hoke Era brought us the following innovations:
- Legacy Jerseys (although this was more of a Brandon idea)
- Numbering the teams (Team 135, etc.)
- Calling them "Ohio."
When he's gone, will any of these endure? I see the team-numbering one sticking around, "Ohio" will go away immediately, and legacy jerseys will be gone as soon as the current jersey-holders graduate. What say you?
November 23rd, 2014 at 1:08 PM ^
November 23rd, 2014 at 5:51 AM ^
agree.
November 22nd, 2014 at 11:46 PM ^
Will Brady have a "You Raise Me Up" moment at the bust or will he be gone by then?
November 23rd, 2014 at 12:03 AM ^
My first thought was the Michael Scott "NO GOD NO" gif but it immediately turned to sadness that Brady's problems are completely different. Hoke doesn't have any doubt (and RR shouldn't have had any either) that he's a Michigan Man and won't have that kind of Bust.
November 22nd, 2014 at 11:47 PM ^
November 23rd, 2014 at 12:13 AM ^
I don't get why everyone's so against "Ohio" except that Hoke uses it and everyone hates Hoke. It seems to add a bit of spice to the rivalry. Yes, I know we suck. That doesn't mean we need to turn into Hoke apologizing to State. And as a bunch of posters mentioned before when we had the discussion, it at least was quite common back in the day.
November 23rd, 2014 at 12:34 AM ^
November 23rd, 2014 at 1:32 AM ^
November 23rd, 2014 at 3:39 AM ^
It's such a simple thing but it really gets them irritated. And it's their own term, i.e. Ohio Stadium, Carmen Ohio, etc.
What could be better.
November 23rd, 2014 at 9:40 AM ^
November 23rd, 2014 at 4:55 AM ^
Well, they are technically The Ohio State University. Do you really go full Buckeye and say "the"?
November 23rd, 2014 at 12:54 AM ^
Not until Hoke's presser faux pas have I ever heard anybody refer to OSU as Ohio.
November 23rd, 2014 at 9:28 AM ^
I don't get why everyone's so against "Ohio" except that Hoke uses it and everyone hates Hoke. It seems to add a bit of spice to the rivalry.
I'm against it because it's stupid. You know what would add a bit of spice to the rivalry? Beating Ohio State.
November 23rd, 2014 at 9:44 AM ^
This. I supported Hoke when he was hired, but I thought "Ohio" was stupid from minute one. Has absolutely zero to do with his shitty job performance, for me.
PS - I'm amazed you haven't had a Hoke apologist weigh in with, "Um, he did beat OSU. He's only 1-2 against them, get a grip." Yeah, and soon to be 1-3, with the "1" coming against an interim-coached tire fire (and barely). Sorry, but damn am I sick of hearing 2011 referenced by people who inexplicably want to keep this utter failure.
November 22nd, 2014 at 11:48 PM ^
Please?
November 23rd, 2014 at 12:24 PM ^
November 22nd, 2014 at 11:49 PM ^
November 22nd, 2014 at 11:49 PM ^
November 23rd, 2014 at 12:04 AM ^
Other schools have retired jerseys, but none of them is the winningest program ever and has 135 years of history.
We realistically have had probably 20 guys whose numbers could have been retired, but we can't take all those out of circulation, so we just stopped for decades. But then we were in a position where we hadn't retired the number of anyone who had played since the 1950s.
The legacy jerseys solve this issue. We can honor all the guys we want without running out of numbers. What should change, though, is all the hoopla about it - make the patch smaller and don't make players "earn" the jersey or swtich in mid-careers - just give them out to freshmen like regular numbers.
November 23rd, 2014 at 12:08 AM ^
Agreed. Switching a player's number in his junior or senior year is strange. Keeping their own numbers gives the guys a chance to make their own mark in Michigan history.
Your suggestion of handing out legacy jerseys as if their "just another number", but with history and a small patch honoring previous wearers could be a good way to handle it.
November 23rd, 2014 at 12:27 AM ^
OSU has 7 retired numbers and is about to retire an 8th in Troy Smith next week.
They seem to manage just fine.
Brandon's excuse was that they ''needed the numbers''. I'm 100% confident his main motive was to sell more jerseys.
Just keep the damn things retired. Nobody should be wearing 98 especially.
November 23rd, 2014 at 12:59 AM ^
Every number has a history, some greater than others, maybe as the jersies are issued to the Freshmen, or as sophomores when many switch, the players are given a biography about the jersey number that they need to learn.
November 22nd, 2014 at 11:49 PM ^
November 22nd, 2014 at 11:50 PM ^
Not Nebraska. Beat them in in their first year (2011).
November 23rd, 2014 at 8:14 AM ^
......and Penn State in 1993.
November 22nd, 2014 at 11:53 PM ^
He didn't invent the team numbers, and the legacy jerseys allow us to honor other legends besides the seven guys we honored decades ago, so they should stay (but the patch should be smaller).
Calling them "Ohio" will be up to the next coach.
November 22nd, 2014 at 11:53 PM ^
Make the Legends jerseys a one night only deal.
For one home game each season, players will be selected to wear whatever Legend number for the game and that game only. Do not announce it, do not make a big media deal of it. Just do it and shut up and play the fucking game.
It's too late to go back and completely throw the program out. They went through all that trouble with the families and making custom lockers to do that.
Ohio is Ohio State. Just stop being stupid and call them by their name. It was cool when we we beat them that one year. Boy those were the days.
November 22nd, 2014 at 11:58 PM ^
I like your "one night only" idea, especially the part about "just do it and shut up".
November 23rd, 2014 at 12:06 AM ^
How could you have a guy switch numbers for one game only and not announce it publicly? You'd have to announce it to the media to explain why the player's switched numbers - and then it'd inevitably be the subject of a bunch of stories in the press. It would be an even bigger deal than the jerseys are now. Having a guy change numbers for one game only would be a Brandonesque move.
November 23rd, 2014 at 12:08 AM ^
When Michigan unveiled the Legend jerseys, they weren't announced until over the PA at the start of games.
November 23rd, 2014 at 12:16 AM ^
But those weren't a "one night only special." They were permanent number changes.
The whole concept of wearing these just one time would seem to contradict the desire to downplay them. You're making them a bigger story by having your star play suddenly change his number for a single game.
Anyway, the larger issue at play is that the legends jerseys let us honor other players besides the seven represented by the five retired numbers. Your proposal doesn't resolve that issue at all.
November 23rd, 2014 at 12:05 AM ^
I wish Gardner had only worn #98 for the ND game.
November 23rd, 2014 at 12:05 AM ^
This is too complicated and pointless. Just scrap it and move on. They sell enough jerseys as it is.
November 22nd, 2014 at 11:54 PM ^
November 22nd, 2014 at 11:56 PM ^
Using team numbers is a good reference to history and tradition.
"Ohio" is/was dumb. I'd rather use a play on Woody Hayes and call them "that team down south".
Legends jerseys are ok. It's been pretty cool to see Gardner wearing old 98, despite his performance on the field.
November 23rd, 2014 at 12:04 AM ^
No! Fergodsakes, no! Let's not act like we're twelve.
November 23rd, 2014 at 12:20 AM ^
November 23rd, 2014 at 3:16 AM ^
November 23rd, 2014 at 12:00 AM ^
November 23rd, 2014 at 12:01 AM ^
A number of other teams have begun doing this as well, so I don't think the practice going anywhere anytime soon
November 23rd, 2014 at 12:01 AM ^
Please give J Ira and Nick Harris their money back so we can just have a head coach.
November 23rd, 2014 at 12:04 AM ^
It's amazing how mugh these folks have been demonized for having the audacity to agree to help pay the coach's salary.
November 23rd, 2014 at 12:16 AM ^
November 23rd, 2014 at 12:21 AM ^
Other than official U-M press releases, how often do media articles actually use that title?
I personally don't care. Endowing coaches' positions is becoming common across the country, and if it's OK for professorial positions, I don't know why a sports coach's job would be sacred.
November 23rd, 2014 at 12:27 AM ^
Besides official press releases? Nobody actually calles him by the full title, just like nobody calls Jim Hacket the Donald R. Sheppard Director of Athletics and nobody calls Pat Fitzgerald the Donald and Susan Jones Family Head Football Coach and nobody calls David Shaw the Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football.
The Athletic Department gets 10 million extra dollars they can use to pay Harbaugh or Mullen or whoever else they might be able to hire and in exchange the press releases get a little longer. In what world is this a bad thing?
November 23rd, 2014 at 3:48 AM ^
I'd say we hit them up for more $$$ so we can get whatever candidate is best.
November 23rd, 2014 at 12:06 AM ^
The only things that I would keep from this era are (1) BBQ at the big house, and (2) night games (not really a Hoke thing).
November 23rd, 2014 at 12:27 AM ^
November 23rd, 2014 at 1:54 AM ^
November 23rd, 2014 at 12:07 AM ^
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